It can’t honestly be said that April 2020 promises much variety. Not as things stand. Forgive me then that this shot repeats the theme of two days ago, but local birdlife is at least photogenic and active at the moment. I marvel at the ability of this tiny creature to happily cling to a fully vertical surface using only its feet: something we humans have yet to master.
Day 10 of house arrest. Amongst the various ways in which this virus is causing trauma to the human world is the added strain it is putting on our communications infrastructure. WordPress seems to presently allow me to upload photos at around noon each day, but at no other times. And lower-resolution pictures are the only ones getting up there. Right now, it’s the way it is.
But at least there is no need to go out panic buying salad leaves at the moment. I have found the wild garlic motherlode a few hundred yards from home. All edible and delicious.
Well, he’s feeling happy, at least. Or maybe belligerent, as robins are quite territorial. He may well have a larger territory than many people, at the moment.
“Where have all the humans gone, duck?”
“I have no idea. But isn’t it quiet. And isn’t the air feeling clean?”
We all risk missing spring this year, don’t we. I, however, intend to do my best to keep an eye on its developments. Without a spring, the year will just suck. Well, y’know, even more than it already does.
So, it’s happened then. Britain is in a state of lockdown. Except maybe it isn’t, maybe it’s all voluntary, because with this government, remember that they don’t really have a clue about anything very much.
Either way I suspect I will be seeing a lot more of Hebden Bridge and home in the next few weeks. Or possibly months. For now I will do my best to keep this blog going, why should it become another victim of this pandemic? But how long I will sustain any creative juices in a world with greatly reduced horizons, I don’t know.
I must already be going slightly crazy, anyway. In these sprouting potatoes (for life, and the garden, must go on) I see little people, sitting in their boxes having a pre-planting natter. Or in the case of the couple to bottom right, a gentle cuddle.
This was one of those where I worried about whether the focus would be on the bird or on the foliage. But it worked out alright in the end. As a big fan of The Silence of the Lambs I cannot help but call this starling “Clarice”: love the winter plumage, all the same. Nor would I mess with that beak.
While out in the countryside today I was very surprised to encounter this fox at such close quarters — and even more surprised when, on seeing me, it didn’t run away, but simply sat down and looked at me, as if it were a pet dog awaiting a treat. It did then amble round a little, clearly well aware of my presence but seemingly unbothered by it. On the other hand, cute and cuddly though it appeared, I suspect this was a vixen, with cubs nearby, hence its interest in keeping an eye on me — and so I kept my distance until we’d got its photographic model duties out of the way.
Mathilda makes it on here for the sixth time, and there are only four people who’ve been on more often (and one of them is me). I just pass through her territory quite often. As she is clearly getting rather old, it’s actually nice to confirm she’s still around. The sad thing is that no one will think to tell me when she finally passes on.
Glorious day in Bucharest, sunny and around 17ºC. Surely the warmest 1st February I have experienced anywhere except Brisbane in 2013, and that doesn’t count. I was not the only one taking this opportunity to relax.
